Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Federal government vs private employer salaries and benefits

The following is an older article about Federal employee salaries and benefits from  USA Today is of general  interest. For some reason, updated articles seemed less accessible. Federal employee advantage 13% salary, 320% benefits.

USA Today/Dennis Cauchon, 3/8/2010. "Federal employees earn higher average salaries than private-sector workers in more than eight out of 10 occupations, a USA TODAY analysis of federal data finds.
Accountants, nurses, chemists, surveyors, cooks, clerks and janitors are among the wide range of jobs that get paid more on average in the federal government than in the private sector.
Overall, federal workers earned an average salary of $67,691 in 2008 for occupations that exist both in government and the private sector, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The average pay for the same mix of jobs in the private sector was $60,046 in 2008, the most recent data available.

CHART: Federal salaries compared to private-sector  These salary figures do not include the value of health, pension and other benefits, which averaged $40,785 per federal employee in 2008 vs. $9,882 per private worker, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. 

Federal pay has become a hot political issue in recent months because of concerns over the federal budget deficit and recession-battered wages in the private sector."

Related  reference articles:
 The Economist, 1/6/11 "Public sector unions have had a good few decates. Has their luck run out?"

Posted by Kathy Meeh

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